"Switch."
The word echoed in the void.
In the blink of an eye, Dusk vanished, instantly replaced by Adam. The yo-yo in Adam’s hand spun wildly, wrapping itself around the extended claw of the Abyss Giant Lizard. Using the pull, Adam hurled himself into the air, narrowly dodging the creature’s second strike—a massive claw that cleaved through stone like butter.
The air cracked from the force of the missed attack.
anwhile, Dusk found himself flung through the spatial swap and slamd right toward the second beast—a hulking, Gorilla-like monster with thunder in its steps and a battle axe the size of a tall building strapped to its back.
Dusk raised his staff in alarm. "Bruh... Give warning next ti."
The Gorilla roared and charged.
Back above, Adam, still midair, clicked his yo-yo again and flung it toward a rock spire to his right. The string extended like a lifeline, wrapping tight. He swung with the montum, flipping to avoid the Lizard’s snapping jaws.
But there was a problem.
The Lizard’s very presence was bending the laws of physics. Flight restriction—a domain-like aura that clung to the air itself—made flying impossible. Wings would cramp. Levitation arrays would sputter. Even Qi-based propulsion weakened under the pressure.
Adam had already dubbed it ’Flight Restriction.’
Which ant his only choice was to use yo-yo to dodge.
And yet, despite the danger, he smiled. "Hehe Spider Paker."
Below them, amidst the jagged ravines of the Abyss Floor, stood Apollo, unmoved.
He stood atop the skull of the Giant Abyss Lizard like a warlord on his throne, the wind howling around him like a chorus of spirits. His long black coat fluttered, and beneath his boots, the beast’s armored hide shifted, rising and falling with each breath like a living mountain.
But this creature... it was no longer just a monster.
Not since Apollo had embedded the machine.
A grotesque fusion of ancient runes and future tech, the device pulsed in his hand like a chanical heart. Glowing tubes spiraled from its base into the lizard’s skull, connecting directly to the beast’s nervous system.
At the center of the device, a spherical core churned with spiritual energy. Lightning arcs licked its surface, casting jagged blue shadows across Apollo’s pale face.
The lizard’s golden eyes had turned eerie blue—emotionless, cold, obedient.
Twelve obsidian needles, each one the size of a lance, were drilled deep into the creature’s brain. They twitched, synchronized to Apollo’s commands. Blue cracks of forced loyalty spread like veins across its skull.
The beast was no longer free. It was his.
His personal siege engine.
Apollo tilted his head, watching Adam swing past a ridge. "Fly, fly little rat," he said with amusent.
Then the machine pulsed again, and the Giant Lizard scread.
The sound wasn’t a roar—it was a cry of pain twisted by control, an unnatural howl that split the air like a blade. Entire cliff faces shattered, boulders crumbling into dust. Dust storms rose like ghosts from the ground.
The beast surged forward, clawing up the cliffside, trying to reach Adam.
Apollo simply watched, calm and composed. "Let’s see how far you can dance."
---
Back on a part of the mountain,
A sea of lightning roared, lighting up the battlefield like the wrath of the heavens. The source of it all—Lily Gos—rushed toward the looming shadow known as Night, her dual lightning whips sparking violently, dancing through the air like twin serpents. Each strike aid to break through the shroud of darkness that enveloped him.
Night stood silently amidst the chaos, his obsidian-black armor absorbing most attacks like an endless void. Lily struck again and again, her movents blindingly fast. She resembled a lightning dragon unleashed in human form, crackling with raw energy. But no matter how fierce her assault, the darkness around Night devoured it with ease.
After a relentless barrage, Lily leapt back, panting slightly. "Now!" she shouted.
In perfect synchronization, four other Grandmasters lunged in, surrounding Night and engaging him with every ounce of their power. While they fought, Lily regrouped with the others.
"I think I found his weakness..." she said, her voice cautious but hopeful.
"As expected of Lily Onee-sama!" Mathilda bead, eyes glowing with admiration. "What is it? What did you find?"
Lily pointed toward the battlefield. "It’s not brute force or elental destruction that can hurt him. It’s light. Pure light. When my lightning strikes his body directly, it hurts him—but only when there’s no shadow nearby. That’s when he’s most vulnerable. He can’t hide or dodge unless he has darkness."
"So... he needs darkness to survive," Mana muttered thoughtfully.
"Exactly. If we trap him in a space filled entirely with light—pure, reflected, radiant light—it’ll be much easier to damage him."
"Light?" Astrid blinked. Her voice wavered with a mory. "Actually... I might be able to help with that."
Everyone turned to her, surprised.
"Actually I got wings." Astrid said with a smile.
"Chicken wings?" Mana asked.
Astrid mouth twitched and she explained. It turns out when she got pursued by an angel, she sohow awakened her wings. And then she explained sothing.
"Will it work?" Mathilda asked.
Astrid’s expression hardened with resolve. "We won’t know unless we try. But I’m willing."
"Well then," Lily said, glancing at the terrain around them. "We’ll need mirrors. A lot of them. Anything that reflects. Do you girls have anything?"
Mana grinned and lifted a small device. "Tyler’s storage watch. He gave mana a copy of his storage watch. It has almost everything."
She tapped the interface and began rummaging through items. Monts later, she pulled out a miniature mirror castle, its spires and walls entirely reflective.
"This is perfect," Lily said, eyes lighting up. "But fragile. We’ll need to be fast."
"We’ll act swiftly, then," Mathilda said, nodding.
"Also," Mathilda added, reaching into her satchel, "this smoke bomb—it’s infused with light sensitivity properties. It will amplify every bit of light in the area." She held up a small glass flask filled with swirling rainbow-colored liquid.
"Brilliant," Lily said. "Let’s plan this precisely. We’ll give him nowhere to hide."
A few monts later...
"Retreat!" Lily commanded. The Grandmasters disengaged and fell back, leaving Night montarily unchallenged.
Then, Lily struck again—fiercer, faster, sharper. Her electric waves split the ground and tore through the sky, but once again, Night’s darkness swallowed them whole. Yet Lily remained untouchable, darting in and out with the help of high-movent speed charms that shimred at her waist.
Monts passed—and suddenly, Night looked up. The battlefield had changed.
He was trapped inside a giant sphere of lightning.
The sphere shone with intense brilliance, generated by Lily’s continuous lightning flow. The bright illumination disrupted the shadows around him. For the first ti, Night seed unsettled.
Then, he extended his hand—and the world twisted.
A do of absolute darkness surged outward from his body, erasing the light around him. The sky above warped, turning pitch black, as if a black hole had swallowed the sun.
"As expected," Lily muttered, gritting her teeth.
His true power... was the domain of darkness itself.
"Now!" Lily scread.
Suddenly, a glass flask flew through the air and shattered inside Night’s shadow domain. A colorless smoke erupted, hissing into the air and spreading rapidly. It clung to every surface, vibrating with strange energy.
A flash of movent—and Mana appeared behind Night, donning a Phantom Mask. With a swift gesture, she activated a chanism, and a giant mirror castle ford around him, walls expanding in all directions and trapping the darkness within.
Another figure descended gracefully from above, wings outstretched. She, too, wore a Phantom Mask—but everyone recognized her divine aura.
"Astrid," Lily whispered.
"Holy Healing!" Astrid chanted, her wings glowing.
From her feathers, pure light burst forth. The smoke amplified the radiance, while the mirror castle reflected and refracted it endlessly. The space beca a prison of light—each ray piercing into the shadows.
Night’s form flickered, his outline distorting.
And then they saw it.
A figure—no longer a formless shadow, but a person. Or sothing close to it.
Pale as death, without hair, androgynous and thin, with sharp features and elf-like ears. Their eyes were golden, and their presence felt alien. This was Night’s true form.
Night was so pale white, and with a form like that it’s difficult to say whether it’s a male or female.
Night howled. It was the first sound Night had ever made—an eerie, high-pitched scream, more like a banshee. The mirror castle trembled under the force of their energy.
Night raised its hand to destroy it—but it was a mont too late.
CRACK!
Lily’s lightning whip shattered the space between them and lashed across Night’s chest. The blow ignited it’s pale skin and sent a shockwave across the battlefield.
"Aaaahh!!" Night shrieked.
Night’s black armor cracked, splintered, then exploded off its body in shards. Night coughed violently, blood spilling from its mouth. Then Night muttered a word in an unknown language—and Night’s body liquefied into pure shadow.
Before anyone could react, Night darted forward like a living mist—and lunged at Astrid.
"Astrid!" Mana scread.
Astrid clutched her head as she fell, her body spasming. Shadows surged around her limbs, creeping over her like venom.
Lily was already there. She caught Astrid mid-fall, her expression fierce.
Mathilda and Mana flew in, their faces pale with fear.
"Half of her body—it’s transforming..." Mathilda whispered.
One of Astrid’s wings had turned black. One of her eyes turned golden. The corruption had started.
But whether it was too late to save her—or just the beginning of sothing far more dangerous—none of them knew.
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